Mike Thrift

Marketing Manager

5694 postsView all authors Back to All Posts

May 17, 202614 min read

VEBAs Under Section 501(c)(9): Pre-Funding Employee Benefits Without Tripping Section 419 or 4976

A Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association under Section 501(c)(9) lets small and mid-sized employers pre-fund retiree medical, severance, and other welfare benefits tax-free — but Section 419 deduction caps, the 100% Section 4976 excise tax on disqualified benefits, and listed-transaction rules in Notices 95-34 and 2007-83 punish mistakes. Here is how a single-employer VEBA actually works, what it can fund, and the three IRS exams it has to pass every year.

Mike Thrift

employee-benefitstax-planningtax-compliance

May 17, 202611 min read

VEBAs Explained: How Employers Pre-Fund Tax-Free Welfare Benefits

A VEBA is a Section 501(c)(9) trust that lets employers pre-fund tax-free health and welfare benefits, but Sections 419 and 419A cap the deduction and Section 4976 imposes a 100% excise tax on reversions. Here is how a legitimate plan differs from an IRS-listed tax shelter.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningtax-compliance

May 17, 202615 min read

Surviving the Workers' Comp Premium Audit: A Small Employer's Field Guide to NCCI Class Codes, Officer Elections, Overtime Carve-Outs, and Subcontractor Traps

Workers' compensation premium is recalculated every year using your actual payroll, and unprepared small employers routinely owe five-figure true-ups. This guide walks through the NCCI premium formula, the standard exception rules, the overtime carve-out math, owner and officer exclusion forms, the subcontractor COI rules that trigger the largest audit hits, and how to dispute a Final Audit Statement.

Mike Thrift

small-businessauditpayroll

May 16, 202614 min read

ASC 805 Purchase Price Allocation: Acquired Intangibles, Earn-Outs, Pushdown Accounting, and Form 8594 Reconciliation

How acquirers execute a purchase price allocation under ASC 805 — identifying intangibles, handling bargain purchases and earn-out volatility, electing pushdown accounting, and reconciling the GAAP allocation to Form 8594 under Section 1060.

Mike Thrift

mergers-and-acquisitionsbusiness-acquisitionbusiness-valuation

May 16, 202611 min read

ASC 820 Fair Value Measurements for Private Companies: Level 1, 2, and 3 Hierarchy, Unobservable Inputs, and Earn-Outs

A practical guide to ASC 820 fair value measurements for private companies, funds, and CFOs—how to classify Level 1, 2, and 3 inputs, build defensible Level 3 valuations for private equity stakes and earn-outs, write disclosures auditors accept, and survive scrutiny of unobservable assumptions.

Mike Thrift

financial-reportingbusiness-valuationaudit

May 16, 202611 min read

Tangible Personal Property Tax: A Small Business Guide to TPP Returns, Freeport Exemptions, and Ghost Assets

A practical guide to the tangible personal property (TPP) tax that 38 U.S. states require small businesses to file every January, covering de minimis thresholds in 12 states, freeport inventory exemptions in 8 inventory-tax states, ghost-asset overpayment, and the annual asset-register workflow that keeps your bill honest.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancesmall-business

May 16, 202612 min read

California AB5 and the ABC Test: Classifying Workers, Using the B2B Exemption, and Surviving an EDD Audit

A working guide to California AB5, the three-prong ABC test, the Borello and business-to-business exemptions, and EDD audit exposure that can reach $25,000 per willful misclassification — plus a practical compliance workflow for small businesses.

Mike Thrift

californiaindependent-contractorcompliance

May 16, 202614 min read

Circular 230 for Tax Professionals: Conflicts, Section 10.34 Standards, and Avoiding OPR Suspension

A practitioner's walkthrough of Circular 230—Sections 10.22, 10.29, 10.34, 10.36, 10.37, and 10.51—covering conflicts of interest, return-position standards, written-advice hygiene, and how OPR investigations actually proceed.

Mike Thrift

tax-compliancecpacompliance

May 16, 202614 min read

Crummey Letters and ILITs: How High-Net-Worth Families Keep Life Insurance Out of Their Taxable Estate

A working guide to ILITs and Crummey powers — covering Section 2042 incidents of ownership, the annual gift tax exclusion, the 5-or-5 rule, hanging powers, the Section 2035 three-year lookback, and the administrative discipline that keeps life insurance death benefits estate-tax-free.

Mike Thrift

estate-planningtax-planninginsurance

May 16, 20268 min read

Form 1099-DA in 2026: Reconcile Per-Wallet Crypto Cost Basis and Avoid Overpaying

Form 1099-DA reports gross crypto proceeds but often leaves cost basis blank, and filing it as-is defaults basis to zero — taxing the full sale price. Here is how per-wallet tracking and reconciliation against the form let you pay tax on your actual gain.

Mike Thrift

cryptocurrencytaxtax-compliance

May 16, 202613 min read

Form 1310 Demystified: How Surviving Spouses, Executors, and Heirs Cash a Deceased Taxpayer's Final Refund Without Triggering a Year-Long IRS Delay

Form 1310 is the IRS form survivors use to claim a deceased taxpayer's refund. This guide explains who must file, the three Part I claimant boxes, the documents to attach (and the one to keep), and how to avoid the 6–12 month delays that trap most paper filers.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancetax-filing

May 16, 202612 min read

Form 14457 and the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice: A Survival Guide for Willful Non-Filers, Crypto Whales, and Offshore Account Holders

How willful non-filers, crypto whales, and offshore account holders use IRS Form 14457 to trade criminal exposure for a defined six-year civil resolution under the Voluntary Disclosure Practice — including the December 2025 proposed framework, disqualifying traps, and when to choose Streamlined or DIIRSP instead.

Mike Thrift

tax-complianceirs-reportingcrypto-taxes

Start Free→Documentation